Spider-Man, Spider-Man, who should play the Spider-Man...?

I have always enjoyed the Spider-Man movies. They are good entertainment with witty(-ish) humour. I even kind of liked the third one. Kind of. They are now rebooting the franchise, so it's bye bye Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and co. I think this is a good decision, the movies and characters were getting a little... tired. And since they want to keep doing movies about Spider-Man, better bring some fresh blood in and hope the audience is still interested in Spidey's adventures. (Though they might be having a hard time making it interesting enough and different from the previous origin story... which was made less than ten years ago...)

Apparently, Marc Webb is directing (with a surname like that, does he have an option?) and the battle over the role of Peter Parker has narrowed down to a handful of young, brisk gentlemen. This is me listing the candidates' pros and cons and telling them who they should cast because I know best giving my humble opinion about who I would give the part to.

Aaron Johnson

+ He's hot, alright.

+ He showed us in Kick-Ass he can both kick ass and get his ass kicked.

+ He also proved that he can look very nerdy and fake-unattractive if he wants to.

+ But he can also start blossoming, so to speak, when it's time to go all action hero and look good.

- He'd be kind of the obvious choice, wouldn't he?

- He's already Kick-Ass. Does he have to get to be Spider-Man, too?

- If he is cast as Spider-Man, he might not have the time to do more Kick-Ass films. I want more and more Kick-Ass films.

- If he's both Spider-Man and Kick-Ass, he might have to parodise himself in Kick-Ass.

+ Which, on second thought, could be quite cool.

Alden Ehrenreich

- He has a difficult name. They would misspell it in the movie posters, or something.

+ He's an unknown face, which could be nice. Tobey was fairly unknow when he first pulled the leotard on.

+/- I've never seen him before, so I have no idea about this quy's talents.

- He looks a bit old compared to the other candidates. Wouldn't buy him as a teenager.

Andrew Garfield

+ He's adorable.

+ He sure as hell has the talent to do anything he's asked.

- I'd start crying in the middle of a Spider-Man movie, because he reminds me of Boy A.

+ He's a Brit. I'd like a British Spider-Man.

+ Imaginarium proved he looks good in funny costumes, surrounded by CGI.

- I'd rather see him do drama than a brainless superhero movie. He might be too talented for the part.

Anton Yelchin

+ Though I have seen him only in Charlie Bartlett, I liked him a lot in that one.

- Is he too skinny?

+ Nah, there are a lot of gyms in the world.

+ There's a certain kind of Spidey vibe in him.

- He'd have no problems with the comedy part of the role.

Frank Dillane

- He is Voldemort. Voldemort is the most evil thing on Earth.

- I didn't like him as Voldemort. The actor in The Chamber of Secrets was a lot better. This guy was slimy and still kind of tame.

- I don't get the Spidey vibe.

- He doesn't look geeky enough.

- In this picture he looks a bit like James Franco - who of course played Peter's best friend in the trilogy. That might indeed be a better role for him...?

- There seems to be everything wrong with this guy. Sorry. No chance.

+ Because I don't like him, he will surely be cast as Spider-Man.

Jamie Bell

+ He danced his way into my heart as Billy Elliot.

+ So I kind of love him.

+ I liked him a lot in King Kong, too.

+ This could be his chance to shine, to get the symphaties of the big audiences and maybe to get more visible roles in more movies.

+ He's so very cute.

+ He's short of geeky and shy, but I could totally see him transform into a badass superhero.

- I so very much want to see him dance again. Spider-Man might not be the best role for that purpose.

+ On second thought, there was that notorious dance scene in the third movie...

Logan Lerman

+ Sure looks like a teenager.

- Apparently that Percy Jakcson film he was in was kind of bad.

- Oh I don't know. I've never seen him in anything.

-/+ I could totally see the teenage girls go crazy for him. Could turn annoying.

Michael Angerano

+ I remember him being quite sweet in Lords of Dogtown.

+ Looks like an unpopular geek with a heart of gold.

- Should go to gym.

- I just kind of can't see him putting on that costume and looking cool.

+ He's feels like kind of an underdog.

+ I like underdogs.

VERDICT: Jamie Bell should play Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Because I only want good things for that guy and a role in a major franchise might do him a lot of good.

BUT: I suppose they'll be very boring and obvious and cast Aaron Johnson. Because he's so hot right now. And well, I wouldn't mind. (Eye candy is always welcome.) But I just enjoy surprises. I almost hope they cast Voldemort.

Well, they are expected to make the choice very soon. I can only hope they haven't done it while I've been writing this post, so that after I publish this and go to IMDb I spot a news title: Frank Dillane is the new Spider-Man! That would be lame and not only because of the bad choice.

Quills

Quills (2000)

Directed by Philip Kaufman. Starring Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine.

Long story short: In the Napoleonic France, the Marquis De Sade is imprisoned at an insane asylumn. From behind the bars he manages to slip out his erotic texts to be published.

Well. I'd never heard of this film before I found it at our local library, where I picked it up because I love Kate Winslet and the whole cast seemed pretty good. And... well. I'm not sure what to think about it. But it certainly wasn't an avarage Hollywood movie, no.

Geoffrey Rush didn't get his Oscar nomination for nothing. He's truly disgusting as the obscene Marquis, who can be charming and persuasive if he wants. Yeah, and he obsessively has to write down his dirty stories that kind of whirl around his brain. Otherwise he goes ever more nuts. It's quite creepy, really. But Rush plays the controversial role very well.

 Kate Winslet is great, again, as she always is. She plays Madeleine, a young laudress, who has somehow befriended with the Marquis. I guess she's intrigued by the taboo. It's the 18th century, remember, so nauhgty stories are kind of a no-no, you know. But Kate is just wonderful. I just love that woman! Michael Caine also means guaranteed excellence. He plays Dr. Royer-Collard, who arrieves at the asylumn and engages in a battle of wills with the Marquis. I've never seen him play anyone so unpleasant, and it was odd to dislike him. But he rocked the role.

Then... Joaquin. Joaquin oh Joaquin. Why oh why did you stopped being a great great actor and went a bit, um, weird? Quills made me remember how very good he used to be. His character, the asylumn's priest, is a kind, decent man, but on the other side his struggling with temptation and supressed feelings. And Joaquin plays him like a true Phoenix can be expected to. Sigh. If only these stunning performances would've kept on coming... Please clear your head, man, and keep doing what you do so so well! Pretty please, oh Joaquin?

 (Ooh, he used to be so handsome, too. Damn.) Quills is a daring film. Not necessarily one to be watched with your parents, or any relative, if you know what I mean. It's an interesting film, too. I forgot to mention that it's actually based on real people and events. It's a rare potrayal of the mentality of those people in that place, at that time. At times it's sad, tragic, but funny and charming, too. Kind of. It kept a hold of me the whole time. It's a bold, unique film with an excellent cast. It's not for everyone - some might think it crosses over to the wrong side of good taste - and I'm not going to "warmly recommend" it, as I often do. But well, if you're up for a bit different film experience, why not give it a shot.

Here's a trailer, which I think is pretty good. I like Napoleon's little feet hanging above the floor as he sits on that far too high chair. Haha. And the last shots... I say this once more. Joaquin oh Joaquin.

(Now I'm kind of glad I don't grade the films I write about. I have no idea what I'd do with this one.) 

"In order to know virtue, we must acquaint ourselves with vice."

"A day without laughter is a day wasted." - Charlie Chaplin

I dare say that Charlie Chaplin is one of those people, who are known and recognized all over the world, still decades after they've passed away. And if not Chaplin himself, then at least his most famous character, the Tramp. People might not know much about the actor himself, but they can easily associate the character with lauhgter and comedy and black-and-white silent films. Admittedly, I didn't know much about this fellow, until some months ago I watched a film about his life. And now, inspired by the film, I'm reading his autobiography and I feel like I'm almost personally getting to know the legendary Chaplin. He had some talent, that man.

So why am I reading this book again? Thanks to Robert Downey Jr.! Kind of. I watched Chaplin because of RDJ, and I became interested in this book because of the film. So. I guess you could give all the credit to RDJ? Sure.

I was happy to find the book at my local library - in Finnish, though, couldn't find it in English, which is a bit of a shame. I might order it in the original language some day. You know, it feels very weird to read something in Finnish! It's been a while since the last time. Anyway, I kind of love this book! Or like it very much, at least.

At he moment I'm half way through the 450-page book, and Chaplin is now 28 years old and already a successful film maker and star, an amazing, long career still ahead of him. He also began and ended his first marriage some pages ago. Did you know that he was once close to quitting acting and becoming a pig farmer? Or that a fortune teller predicted his future success when he was about 20? The book is so interesting and full of information and yet somehow it's very light to read. It's been a while since I've been so hooked on a book. Which is a bit surprising, but awesome all the same!

Chaplin was a very talented writer (in addition to being a very talented actor, director, screenwriter, you name it...). He managed to put a thousand small memories, minor and major events and random pieces of dialogue together, making it a smooth, coherent story. He wrote a book when he was 75. I can only wish I'll be so witty and capable if I ever reach 75. (And even if some holes in his memory were probably filled with imagination, I don't really care.)

This is what I've learned about Charlie Chaplin (during that first half of the book): he was born to be a legend. (Wow, that sounded corny. Anyway. He was, wasn't he?) He was always adventurous, always eager to see and do and learn and be more. He was intelligent, brave, ambitious and cheeky enough to handle himself in movie business - which at the time was controlled by stubborn movie bosses, who wanted to keep doing films the way they had always been done. He was passionate - if not always about acting, at least about entertaining people and making them laugh. He was just as prone to feelings of loneliness, inadequency and self-pity as the rest of us, and sometimes surprisingly shy. Oh and he was a genious. A persistent and hard-working genious.

Yesterday I watched my first Chaplin film ever. It was a twelve minute MESS with the Tramp in a bar, once in a while cut to another scene with the Tramp painting a portait of a lady, and I wasn't quite sure what was going on. And yet... I found myself laughing aloud at people falling down, stumbling at their feet, kicking each other in bottoms and the Tramp making funny faces and trying to hit on ladies. Who knew slapstick comedy can actually be so much fun? I really was surprised. And then watched two more short films.

What also is very charming about the films is their hopelessly bad quality ('bad' as seen through the eyes of the Avatar generation, that is): the blurry, shaking, black-and-white images, the simple, cheerful "elevator music", that every now and then stops to start again from the beginning, and the fact that sometimes the camera cuts half of the characters' heads off. It's a big part of the charm.

(It's funny that people don't know what Chaplin really looks like, without the mask and costume, I mean. Hell, I wouldn't know the picture above is the Charlie Chaplin I'm writing about. I'm just trusting Google.)

Chaplin received an Honorary Oscar in 1971. (Until that he'd won only one Oscar as a composer. NEVER one for acting or directing. Hmm.) Click here to see it happen. (Here you can also hear Chaplin's own description about the Tramp: "A tramp, a gentleman, a poet, a dreamer, a lonely fellow always hopeful of romance and adventure. He would have you believe he is a scientist, a musician, a duke, a polo player. However, he’s not above picking up a cigarette butt or robbing a baby of his candy." And then something about kicking ladies in the "rear", but only in extreme anger. Haha. Excellent.)

Moments like that can easily feel melodramatic or corny, but I think that's a wonderful moment and he's sincerely moved and honoured. I am SO looking forward to that part of the book. I will probably write another post then, after I finish the book. So, more praise coming up! And all deserved. Also, I'm planning on watching some of Chaplin's full-length features, too. (Any recomendations?) Until then... a few wise words. I kind of love this man.

"A man's true character comes out when he's drunk."

"Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself."   

"Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot." 

"The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury." 

"What do you want a meaning for? Life is a desire, not a meaning." 

"Words are cheap. The biggest thing you can say is 'elephant'."

Five Top Fives: A Lost Special

I promise this will be the last post about Lost in... a while. I'll shut up about it until I begin my marathon... which means you won't be hearing anything about Lost for at least three weeks, if we're lucky! Haha. No, really. I know this isn't an interesting topic for everyone, but I need to babble about it until the word 'lost'  itself makes me sick. Which might take a while. Anyway. Here's five lists from the world of Lost, in other words, 5 Lost Lists.

(First one negative list and then good old praise praise praise!) And again, SPOILER ALERT!

5 THINGS I DISLIKED ABOUT SEASON 6

1. The explanation about the statue and the Black Rock. I mean blah. I try not to bitch about the explanations the writers are kind enough to grant us, and as I've said before, the drama part of the show has always been more important to me than the mystery part, but COME ON. It just doesn't really make sense to me that a wooden ship breaks a statue made of stone (so that only one foot remains) and then lands a good distance away in the jungle. Hhhhhnng. I am okay with overlooking a lot, but just... hnnnnngh. 

2. The Lighthouse. Both the episode and the building itself. At this stage of the show I just wasn't up for another mysterious place, another mystery without an upcoming explanation. It didn't feel very significant. And I think that episode was the weakest on the season. Again, Jack is having daddy issues, only difference is that now he's the daddy. 

3. Jin and Sun not speaking Korean to each other. They see each other for the first time in three long years, and they don't speak their native language? WHY OH WHY? At least their last words were in Korean, thank god. 

4. Sun loosing the ability to speak English. Couldn't see the point. 

5. Shannon being Sayid's "soul mate". Well, you know. I see why they chose to do this, but I always saw Nadia as Sayid's true love. He loved her before and after Shannon, whom he loved only for a couple of steamy weeks. I guess it's the island's magic.

5 FAVOURITE MINOR CHARACTERS

 

1. Penelope Widmore. Desmond and Penny are my favourite couple of Lost. I wanted a happily ever after for them so much, and though I didn't quite get it, I'm glad all the same. Sonya Walker is very beautiful and she has a wonderfully warm smile. And again I have to mention the phone call in The Constant. So so so sweet and touching. 

2. Martin Keamy. Why? Because Keamy is E V I L. Like hard core E V I L. There's no doubt about this, no possibility that somewhere deep inside he has a sensitive heart. No no no. He's just E V I L all the way. 

3. Tom Friendly. On season 2 he was scary as hell. By season 3 he'd become a very sympathetic character and I was actually sad to see Sawyer doing his merciless kill. Luckily we got more Tom later. And by the way, Tom throwing a football is very funny. 

4. Leslie Artz. Did I spell it right? Artz is always a source of a good laugh. Shame he blew up. (Not really.) "Dude... You've got some Arntz on you" is a legendary quote. 

5. Neil Frogurt. Congratulations! You've been chosen as the most annoying character on Lost! I was only glad to see you go.

EDIT// I effing forgot Carmen Reyes. Damn. Anyway. She rocks.

5 FAVOURITE TWOSOMES

1. Detective Straume & detective Ford. First, check this out. Wouldn't this just be the most awesome tv show ever? Second... nah. I think that says it all. Pure awesomeness. In uniforms. With badges. Armed. 

2. Charlie & Hurley. It's sweet sweet sweet. They have their fights and differences, but in the end, it's just sweet. This is the most genuine friendship formed on the island. I love their goodbyes - and that only Charlie knows it really is a final goodbye. 

3. Miles & Hurley. This was an unlikely friendship. All the way from season four's "Great... The ship sent us another Sawyer", this twosome has worked very well together. Their time travel chat on season 5 is just golden, and so are their conversations in Some Like It Hoth. Oh and they are stangely connected by the ability to talk to the dead. 

4. James & Jack. Most of the time these two are arguing, kicking each other's asses or just generally not on good terms. But think about the great scenes they've shared! "Me? I'm in the wild", "Right behind you, jackass", Sawyer admiting that Jack's the closest thing he has for a friend after the death of Ana Lucia, the poker, the ping pong match... And above all, the scene where Sawyer tells Jack that he met his father in Sydney. It's brilliant. 

5. Kate & Juliet. There aren't that many great female friendships on the island. But this one I like, even though it's not a very strong friendship. I remember someone saying that in other circumstances, Juliet and Kate probably would've been best friends. And yes, why not? There was just always a love triangle (or whatever it's called when there are four participants) or something going on, preventing them from developing a friendship. But I very much like the scene on season 5 where Kate arrives at Dharmaville, and Juliet saves her from an awkward situation and they "formally" introduce themselves.

...Oh no oh no oh noooooo! I forgot something very very essential. Terrible. I forgot John & Ben! I feel ashamed. I make sure I'll punish myself in an appropriate fashion. All the way from Lockdown on season 2 this twosome has had an unquestionably great chemistry. Their scenes are always great, whether they happen to be on the same side or not. One of their best scenes is the season 3 finale, with Ben talking about time travelling bunnies and Locke making him annoyed by bringing up 'the magic box', once again. Haha.

5 FAVOURITE DVD EXTRAS

1. Lost Bloopers. They just rock. Season two and three have the best ones. (Well, one, too. And four. And come to think of it, five is quite funny too. Hmm.) Dominic Monaghan is hilarious. And Terry O'Quinn. And Harold Perrineau. And Josh Holloway. And again, I love Elizabeth Mitchell's cackling laughter. 

2. Commentaries. I generally like commentaries. The one I've listened to the most times must be Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof's commentary on season 3 finale, There's no place like home. It's a double episode and they get a little tired. It's very funny. 

3. The Island Backlot: Lost in Hawaii. A little feature showing how they transform Hawaii into Korea, Irak, London, Sydney, Tunisia, wintery Berlin... It's so cool. 

4. Lost Book Club. I like this feature a lot, and it always makes me want to read all the books mentioned. Plus this: Carlton explains how the characters are not only physichally lost, they are also lost in their lives, and Damon interrupts him by looking a bit amused and saying something like: "I never though about it like that. That's deep." And as you know, Damon is one of the original creators of the show. Haha. Great stuff. 

5. Channel 4 promo. This is so so good! Possibly the best promo ever. It's close to being too artsy, but no, it's just very very cool.

5 FAVOURITE WORKS OF ART BY FANS

1. The Final Season of LOST as Seen by Someone Who Has Never Seen blog. The title says it all. This is a blog of a guy who watches season 6 of Lost, without seeing the previous seasons. In a word, it's hilarious. He writes in a wonderfully sarcastic and straight-forward way, making the happenings on the show sound even more absurd than they actually are. He highfives with Miles and mocks Jack for being an incompetent doctor. And let's not forget the illustrations. I've had a lots of fun reading the blog, and I warmly recommend it to you, too. 

2. Connect Four Million video. This one's from Jimmy Kimmel's show. The video itself starts at 1:01. It's funny. "Pretty sneaky, bro!" 

3. Artwork by fans site. Here's a collections of fanmade Lost pictures. There're some real gems there, I recommed you glance through them! 

4. Season 6 preparations video. There are six of these, each of them has a different theme. Someone used A LOT of their time making these videos, and it shows. They are very very cool. 

5. Oceanic 815 crash in real time video. ... And so is this! This video shows what happened in the plane and each part of the island during the crash. 24 style!

God. This took me a while.

Me and Orson Welles

Me and Orson Welles (2008)

Directed by Richard Linklater. Starring Zac Efron, Christian McKay, Claire Danes.

Long story short: In 1937 the 17-year-old drama student Richard is cast, by a coincidence, in a play directed by Orson Welles and is thus given a change to pursue a life-long career in the world of theatre. If only he can survive Orson Welles.

I'd like to say I watched this film only because it's from the director of Before Sunrise (it was a contoributor, though!), or because it's about Orson Welles (can't say this was the reason, as I've never seen any of his films or anything), but let's just be honest and say I watched this film because of Zac Efron. Ha ha haa. Well. I have a soft spot for him, okay? And I wanted to see if he can really act properly.

Let's leave the teenage idols aside for a moment and let's look at Christian McKay, a fairly unknown British actor, who plays the brilliant, self-centered, proud Orson Welles. And plays him very very well, by the way! He dominates every scene he's in, like his supposed to. I don't know where this actor has been hiding and why he isn't being offered more and more major roles. He will appear on the upcoming Woody Allen film You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, but I can't be too exited about this, because I generally dislike Woody Allen films. Anyway.

Claire Danes plays Richard's love interest Sonja, who for some reason annoys me a bit. I loved her clothes, though. I loved all of their clothes! The clothes were one of the best things in the film. Why can't we dress like that anymore?

I also liked the setting. Theatres have always fascinated me. I like that the Shakespearian theatres don't differ that much from the modern theatres. Technology doesn't intefere with the oldest and noblest theatre tricks and traditions. It's cool. I've ofter dreamed about working in a theatre (when I haven't been too busy desperately dreaming about working in film or television industry). Well. Me and Orson Welles certainly doesn't make the industry seem very glamorous, but highly fascinating all the same.

Question: when will Zac Efron star in a film, in which he doesn't either a) sing, b) dance, or c) play basketball? I don't mind him doing these things, though, as I think he does all of them very well. At least singing and dancing. And my humble opinion is that he can act, too. I'm glad he stepped out of the comedy circles (though I though he actually was quite funny in 17 again) to something a bit more serious. Next he'll star in a drama Charlie St. Cloud, which seems okay, though horribly American and a bit plastic. But we'll see. The High School Musical/Disney star stigma will no doubt stay with Zac Efron for a long time, but I really do hope all the best for him.

And one more picture, just so we won't forget how ridiculously good-looking he is. As if we could, DUH!!

Hmm. I seem to have talked very little about the film itself. And well, it didn't provoke that many thoughts in me. Me and Orson Welles wasn't very surprising, nor ground-breaking in any way, but it was a delightful, genuine little film, that managed to make me smile and entertain me for an hour and a half. Many films can't manage to do even that.

Oh, and I liked the euphemism they had for sex. And the jokes around it. And how they skipped that one potential sex scene, accordingly. Haha.

"Hmm... Possibilities..."

A film about Facebook? Lame? I don't think so.

Eeva likes this.

I've been looking forward to this film since I found out it's being made. Not only because I'm a slave of the site, but also because of the director David Fincher. And because I love almost every movie he's ever made.

I think this will be awesome. The trailer certainly suggests so.

If the trailer doesn't work, here's a link.

Shutter Island

Shutter Island (2010)

 Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams.

Long story short: U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels is sent to Shutter Island, to a hospital for the criminally insane, to investigate the escape of a female prisoner, err, I mean patient, as they are referred to as.

I expected a lot of this film. I've read many praising reviews and really really wanted to love it. I didn't. Love it, I mean. I liked it though. So I'm a little disapointed. But only a little.

First, when I watched Shutter Island last night, I was aware I was taking a risk: I was very very VERY tired after an exhausting week at work, so it probably wasn't the ideal time to see a film like this. But I did. During the first hour I was so close to falling asleep that I had to pause the film for a moment to rest my eyes and pull myself together, which in my experience does never too much good for the watching experience. So it's very possible that under different circumstances I might've even loved Shutter Island. But only 'might've'. Liked it more, perhaps.

Leo is a controversial actor in my book. On one hand there are Titanic, What's Eating Gilbert Grape? and Revolutionary Road, and on the other... Well, these recent Scorsese films like Gangs of New York, The Aviator and The Departed that are critically well-acclaimed, but I can't make myself like any of them. It seems to me that Leo is stuck doing these certain kind of roles, which just blend into each other on my mind. I'd like to see him play a bit more light-hearted character for a change - not in a silly comedy but in a clever, witty, light-ish drama, perhaps! (And by the way, I love the friendship between him and Kate Winslet. This makes me like Leo an inch more. The friendship just seems so sweet and sincere.)

Leo on Shutter Island is okay, convincing, but not omg-my-mind-will-blow-away!! material. The first scene on the boat caused some instant Titanic associations... "Pull yourself together, Jack Teddy. It's just water. A lot of water."

Islands are excellent settings, especially for films like this. However, I didn't quite reach the feeling of claustrofobia and anxiety I was expecting. Maybe they weren't even aiming for that. Who knows. Well, Scorsese might. 

First the constant dreams and visions and flashbacks felt a bit tiring, especially those that went on and on and on. But, as they turned out to be an important part of the story, I'll forgive the film for them. And some were actually very nice and moody. The scene in the concentration camp, with the shot of the bodies of a woman and her daughter laying frozen on the ground among other bodies was wonderfully creepy and very very sad.

Scenes on the island, especially those inside the darkness of Ward C, where the most dangerous patients are kept, made me jumpy, and yet, not as much as I expected. Somehow everything about this film wasn't quite as good as I expected. On the top of everything, I didn't immiadiately get the point in the end. Which made me feel very stupid. I can only blame my fatigue and my poor concentration. I'm not that stupid, am I? AM I? Well. With a little help from IMDb my jammed brain finally got it. And yes, after I think about it more closely after good 11 hours of sleep, I see the cleverness of it all. And I know I should watch it again. Maybe I will.

Next, hello sunshine. Great Midsummer, everyone!

"You'll never leave this island."

The Official LOST Post (continued)

I'm so so sorry for the lack of posts this past week! It's been kind of hectic. I haven't been home much, and when I have, I've only felt like watching movies, not writing about them. Right now I can't wait to fall on my bed with only the company of a film and popcorn. I just hope I won't fall asleep. Working with kids is... tiring. Anyway! I finally finished the second part of my Lost post, so here it is.

1. Lost (continued)

This post is only about the characters and it'll be very long. Sorry. There are too many of them and I love them all too much, but let's see what I can do. Oh and SPOILER ALERT! I'm not holding back any details here.

Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox)

My favourite Jack moment above! That's where it all began, in a brilliant way. I pretty much disliked Jack throughout the first four seasons, because... Well. He was the heroic doctor, always wanting to save everyone and fix everything and blah blah blah. During season five, as he starts to loosen up a little, he begins to be more likable. One of the most amusing moments of the season is when Jack becomes a Dharma janitor (Sawyer making a little statement there, no doubt) and wipes the chalkboard. Haha. You had it coming. Jack redeemed himself in my eyes, in the end. Or in The End, to be specific. He was supposed to be that annoying hero in the beginning, so that he was able to make that amazing journey and become a man of faith - still saving people, but not in that whiny, obsessive, irritating kind of way.

I'll try to avoid the most obvious choices with these quotes, but this one is just legendary (Though I hate how Matthew Fox sounds like a teenage boy while delivering the line. He's voice goes like an octave up somewhere towards the end. Same happens with "This is our destiny!" in season 5. Highly annoying.):

"If we can't live together, we're gonna die alone."

Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly)

Ah, the female lead of Lost. She, who always gets to play with the boys. I've had a lot of problems with Kate, too. Jack and Kate very often get the most attention and I never was too interested in their storylines. Kate has some really great moments in the early seasons, like her and Sawyer's 'I never' game is one of the best scenes ever. But well, then there was the love triangle, of course, and in her flashbacks she was running and hm, she was just a bit boring most of the time. And then she was stuck with that ugly grey shirt all season 6! I like Evangeline Lilly more than Kate, she seems very cool.

"Welcome to the wonderful world of not knowing what the hell is going on."

James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway)

Gotta love Sawyer. Not only is he handsome as hell and the most charismatic person on the island, but he also has a fascinating background, awesome storylines and some of the wittiest, funniest lines and spot on nicknames for everyone. During the first episodes I didn't really warm up to Sawyer. Frankly, I'm not sure how that's possible! His character arch is great. First, that chain-smoking jackass, who's closed up and doesn't want to get attached to anyone. Then, little by little, he begins to open up and become more human. And what do you know, by season 5 he's become a responsible leader. I loved that, and I loved him and Juliet together. I also loved that beneath that Dharma jumpsuit, Jim LaFleur was still good old Sawyer, always ready to kick ass if necessary. Juliet's "first death" in The Incident is heartbreaking. James mourning for her and CRYING on the pier in What Kate Does is even more heart-breaking. James, oh James. And I love Josh Holloway's giggles. Wonderfully out of character.

"Right behind you, jackass."

Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia)

Everybody loves Hugo. He's simply a lovable dude. So lovable that he could become almost boring. But no, fortunately Hurley isn't merely a comic relief, and there's a darker side to him, too. His past at the mental institution, connection to the numbers and ability to chat with dead people keep him interesting. And yet, we love him for being sweet and funny and caring and mostly just choosing to stay out of the way instead of participating in all the action. Jorge Garcia plays him in the most natural and effortless way. And seriously, who didn't shed at least a little tear, when Hurley starts sobbing in the end of The Candidate? God, that was sad.

"Dude, I know how this works. This is going to end with you and me running through the jungle screaming and crying. He catches me first because I'm heavy and I get cramps."

John Locke (Terry O'Quinn)

John Locke is no doubt one of the best characters of Lost (as Terry O'Quinn is one of the best actors). I took me quite a long time to realise that. Really only after his death I saw the tragedy that his life was. Poor poor John! Seriously! Always looking for things he thought he was supposed to do and struggling with his faith on destiny and the island. But in the end, I'd like to think he didn't die in vain. He was a huge contributor in Jack's transformation. And I like how Jack stood up for Locke in the final season - he'd finally gotten over his "Locke problem". Funniest Locke moment is in the finale of season 1, when they're getting the dynamite from the Black Rock. Jack is carefully lifting one and John asks if he's ever played Operation. And then he goes 'BZZZ!'. Haha. Below one of the coolest quotes of the show.

"Two players, two sides. One is light, one is dark."

Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews)

Sayid is a badass.  He can fix anything if you only give him 'a minute'. He fights like a ninja and can be very, err, persuasive. He also has various true loves, who always seem to die. Poor Sayid. Sayid's storylines were often circling around the same question: is he good or bad, in the end? And yet Sayid-centric episodes are almost all very good! I'm not a huge fan of Enter 77, nor Economist, but anyway. Though I always liked the decent and righteous Sayid, the fifth season's evil infanticide Sayid (on that horrific purple women's shirt) and the last season's zombie Sayid were very cool, too! The coolest Sayid moment is in the season three finale, when he breaks that guy's neck with his legs, hands tied behind his back. Whoo! Take that red-shirt Other! (Oh and Naveen Anders sounds very peculiar when he speaks with his own very British accent.)

"My name is Sayid Jarrah and I am a torturer."

Sun & Jin Kwon (Yunjin Kim & Daniel Dae Kim)

  The best storylines of this couple took place in the early seasons - Jin turning from that horrible man to a wonderful husband and learning the dark secrets of Sun's past. After Jin "dies" in the freighter, their stories are only about them getting back together and when it finally happened, it didn't quite live up to the expectations - and how could it have? Anyway, I've enjoyed every reunion along the seasons. Jin and Sun's death has to be the saddest of all, right there with Charlie's death. Oooh, the tear streams... I'm not commenting on the issue of Jin choosing to die with Sun and thus letting their daughter become an orphan... but I kind of understand why he did it.
"Remember when all you had to give me was a flower?"

Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson)

Ok. First, Michael Emerson is possibly the best actor on Lost and that's one reason why I rank Ben very high on my favourite list. Someone said somewhere that Emerson could read a phonebook and make it sound like Shakespeare and I seriously don't doubt it at all! Also Ben as a character is excellent - you never know what's going on with him, but he certainly doesn't seem trustworthy. All the way from his season 2 Henry Gale act, he's been interesting, unpredictable and always providing the audience with witty comments and fine monologues. Dr. Linus was one of my favourite episodes of the final season, which is mostly thanks to Michael Emerson.
"How many times do I have to tell you, John? I always have a plan."

Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick)

Des has been competing for the first position on my favourite list with Sawyer pretty much from the moment of his introduction (the best introduction of a character EVER). I'm a fan of every Desmond-centric episode. The Constant is nearly a perfect episode, cultimating in that touching, touching phone call between Des and Penny. They are also my favourite couple of Lost. Desmond is just very cool. And he's a Scot. That's always a big plus, mates!
"Just saving the world, brother."

Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan)

Dominic Monaghan was one of the reasons I started to watch the show in the first place. He's cool. Thus it's no surprise that Charlie was a favourite of mine all the way until his heartbreaking death. Charlie is a pretty dark character, who definitely has his flaws, but Dominic plays him in a very charming and sympathetic way, making him very likable. He also works very well as comic relief. Though Fire + Water is my least favourite episode of all, because it makes me feel so bad, The Greatest Hits and The Moth are right at the other end.
"Dear diary... Still on the bloody island. Today I swallowed a bug."

Claire Littleton (Emilie De Ravin)

Claire was never favourite material. Sure, she was sweet and I always liked her, but she lacked the potential to develop into a strong, independent character. I say 'was sweet', because we were introduced to a fairly different Claire on season six. Which was quite cool, actually, as she was a total opposite of her former self. Can you imagine season-one-Claire beating the crap out of Kate? (Plus Sayid indifferently watching it happen and Locke violently shaking Caire afterwards.) Me neither!
"He's the only one who didn't abandon me."

Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell)

Juliet is my favourite female character! She started out as a mysterious Other, gradually proving herself decent and trustworthy. She can be strong and badass, but also gentle and caring. Again, I very much like the whole James/Juliet thing. We should've seen it coming! Really, they fit perfectly together and after LaFleur I was okay with Jack having Kate in the end, because after seeing him with Juliet, the thing James had with Kate didn't feel that special anymore. And I love Elizabeth Mitchell's lauhgter.
"It's very stressful being an Other."

 Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell)

I was never too big on Richard. Don't know why, really. He seemed kind of flat to me, and lacked personality. Maybe that's why I didn't love Ab Aeterno as much as a true Lost fan should have. Though I can't deny the beauty of the scene between him and his long-dead wife, communicating with the help of Hurley. I also liked the look on his face when he found his first grey hair.

"Ille qui nos omnes servabit."

Miles Straume (Ken Leung)

Miles equals awesome. When he was introduced on season 4 I didn't care about him at all, nor any other of the new freighter folk. Then season 5 and Some Like It Hoth came along and I realised that Miles equals awesome. Everything he did and said on the last season was awesome. Culminating in the following line in the finale...
"I don't believe in a lot of things, but I do believe in duct tape."

Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey)

Poor Frank. He never got his own storylines and it seemed he was kept around only because of his ability to pilot certain vehicles. And yet nearly every time he opened his mouth something good came out. Like This is the weirdest damn funeral I've ever been to, or In case you haven't noticed, I'm a pilot. And of course...
"We're not going to Guam, are we?"

Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies)

For some reason I never really warmed up to Faraday. Of course he was good to have around - explaining the wonders of quantum physics in somewhat understandable English. But I was never too interested in his past and so on. The little romance between him and Charlotte didn't work for me: it felt forced and not believable. However, his death was wonderfully tragic and I enjoyed meeting him again on season 6, again talking stuff we hardly understood.
"When... is kind of a relative term."

Charlotte Lewis  (Rebecca Mader)

I like Charlotte's hair. I like her accent. I liked her as a little girl. But... that's pretty much all I like about her. She always felt too much like a supporting character, and I never grew to care about her very much. Thus her death didn't move me at all. Though she was fantastically creepy saying her This place is death line!

"I'm not allowed to eat chocolate before dinner."

Michael Dawson & Walt Lloyd (Harold Perrineau & Malcolm David Kelley)

There are very few black people on the island, am I right? And those few lucky ones aren't that lucky! Michael had some very bad times on the island (and off) and when he finally was let go, he really wasn't. As far as we know, he's still hanging around on the island as a ghost, doing ghost-y things. And Walt... Well, at least the got of the island all right, but he (nor us) never found out what was so special about him. But let's not loose our hopes just yet, as apparently Walt will appear on season 6 dvd box! (There's only one candidate for the character quote...)
"WAAAAAAAAALT!"

Boone Carlyle & Shannon Rutherford (Ian Somerholder & Maggie Grace)

These two of the most beautiful people on the island didn't stay around very long. But it was good as long as it lasted! Or if not good, then at least okay. Boone's death was a shock, as he was the first major character to go. I always liked how he raised his eye brows. Shannon's death was both a shock and a relief, as her thing with Sayid was always a bit arguable. But I like how she once called Boone a bone head. Haha. Almost as good as Sawyer's jackass line. And her screaming in The Pilot is almost iconic. Boone and Shannon might have been a bit shallow pair of characters and I didn't miss them much after they passed away, but I was always happy to meet them again in flashbacks, in John's druggy visions and in after life.
"My brother. Boone. God's freaking gift to humanity."

Rose & Bernard Nadler (L. Scott Caldwell & Sam Anderson)

This couple never got much screen time, but whenever they did, they rocked the house and won the symphaties of the audience. I can't really explain the charm of Rose and Bernand, but they are simply very very cool. I loved loved loved their little retirement home they put together for themselves, and I loved loved loved how they only wanted to stay out of trouble and be with each other. And I love love love the writers for making it happen. Plus Rose made me want to highfive her with this following line.
"If you say 'Live together, die alone' to me, Jack, I'm going to punch you in the face."

Jacob & brother (Mark Pellegrino & Titus Welliwer)

The beginning of Incident Part One is one of the coolest scenes ever. It was so typical that we were introduced to the mysterious Jacob just like that, and that he wasn't what we expected. I love the peaceful way he speaks. And his brother... In the end, I though it was awesome that we never learned his name. My guess is, he doesn't have one. Or if he had, it was some common, silly name like Bob or Vernon. Haha.
"Do you have any idea how badly I want to kill you?"
"Yes."

I'm intentionally left out some fairly important characters, like Mr Eko, Libby, Ana Lucia ja Rousseau, because I wouldn't have had much to say about them. Then again, I didn't say much about Charlotte or Lapidus either, but had to include them, as the rest of the freighter people were on the list, too. I will return once more with a punch of Top Fives, and then I'll leave Lost aside. Until the Marathon, I mean. Which isn't that far away in the future, really. So keep your sighs of relief inside a little while longer.